This presentation will present the examination of spaceborne radar and optical data independently and in combination for land use/cover mapping. Improved classification accuracy was obtained when these independent data sets were combined often with the use of radar-derived measures such as texture. One of the study sites had a merged sensor accuracy improvement of 18 percent over either sensor independently. Four different methods to combine the two sensor types are compared. The highest classification accuracies did not occur in all study sites with the same procedures for sensor integration. Generally, a procedure with a more equal weighting of the number of bands from each sensor was best such as three of the Principle Components Analysis (PCA) bands from the optical data with radar texture measures. Examples from Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Nepal will be examined.

The Geography Seminar Series is organized by the Geographical Honors Society Gamma Theta Upsilon Eta Omicron Chapter.

For many years, there has been controversy over the magnitude of both
the solar EUV (0-100 nm) irradiance and 0-1 keV photoelectron flux.
The solar EUV irradiance is the primary driver of the energetics and
dynamics of the Earth’s upper atmosphere above 100 km. There are
uncertainties in theoretical photoelectron fluxes because of
uncertainties in cross sections and solar EUV irradiance. Accurate
solar EUV irradiance measurements are difficult to make because they
must be made at high altitudes and because the energetic photons
degrade the instruments that measure them. The ionization of oxygen
and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere produces energetic photoelectrons
as well as ions. Photoelectrons take approximately half the incident
photon energy in the creation of secondary ions and electrons and
airglow emissions. In recent years, the photoelectron flux has become
important because the airglow emissions are heavily used in diagnosing
variations in the upper atmosphere. This paper reexamines the
consistency of solar EUV irradiance and ionospheric photoelectron
fluxes using recent measurements.

Since October 1994, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System [NPOESS] Integrated Program Office [IPO] has been developing a suite of advanced, imagers, radiometers and sounding /probing instruments as a major part of the next generation operational, remote sensing satellite system in polar, low earth orbit [LEO].

The NPOESS Mission is to provide an operational remote sensing capability on global and regional scales for the Meteorological, Climatic, Terrestrial, Oceanographic and Solar-Geophysical mission areas. NPOESS will be an end-to-end system for Environmental Remote Sensing Observations that will contribute to the “Nine Societal Benefits Areas” that are the foundation challenge areas identified for GEOSS [Global Earth Observation System of Systems] by the Group on Earth Observations [GEO].

In the same time frame the European community, EUMETSAT, European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellite Systems, will be flying their next generation, operational, polar-orbiting LEO system, MetOp. MetOp will also have highly capable imagers, radiometers and sounding/probing instruments.

The NPOESS & METOP instruments will represent together a significant contribution to a polar-orbiting, earth remote sensing system of satellites for an emerging GEOSS for Numerical Weather Prediction, Climate, Terrestrial, Oceanographic and Space Weather applications. Similarly, the US and European satellite systems, GOES-R & MSG instruments, will represent an important, geostationary component of such a GEOSS.

This presentation will discuss some of the planned NPOESS and the precursor NPOESS Preparatory Project [NPP] Mission Capabilities with respect to the sensors/algorithms/products for several of the major sensors that will be onboard the NPOESS/NPP constellation satellites including: VIIRS – Visible and Infrared Imager and Radiometer Suite, CrIS – Cross-track Infrared Sounder, ATMS – Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder, OMPS – Ozone Mapper and Profiler Suite, and MIS – Microwave Imager/Sounder. These sensors/algorithms/products will form synergies with the major sensors onboard EUMETSAT’s MetOp including the AVHRR/3 – Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, IASI – Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer, AMSU/MHS – Advanced Microwave Sounder/Microwave Humidity Sounder, HIRS/4 – High-resolution Infrared Sounder, GOME-2 – Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment, GRAS – GNSS Receiver for Atmospheric Sounding, and ASCAT – Advanced Scatterometer.